Al-Okhdood Club

Al-Okhdood
Full nameAl-Okhdood Club
Nickname(s)Ambassador of Najran
Founded1976 (1976)
GroundPrince Hathloul bin Abdulaziz Sports City
Capacity10,000
ChairmanSami Al Fadehl
ManagerPaulo Sérgio
LeagueSaudi Pro League
2024-2515th of 18
Websitealakhdoud.com

Al-Okhdood Club (Arabic: نادي الأخدود, romanizednādī ʿukhdūdi, lit.'Ditch') is a Saudi professional football club based in Najran, in the southern region of Saudi Arabia.[1] Founded in 1976, the club competes in the Saudi Professional League, the first tier of Saudi football. The club have won the Saudi Second Division twice in 1992 and most recently in 2021.[2] Besides football, the club also consists of various other departments including karate, handball, taekwondo, volleyball, water polo, basketball and cycling.[3] The club's name alludes to the People of the Ditch mentioned in the Qur'an.[4]

History

Al-Okhdood, founded in 1976, secured promotion to the Saudi Pro League on 15 May 2023 for the first time in history, following a 2–2 draw between 5th-placed Al-Faisaly and Jeddah with three matchdays left, in which they became the 37th club in top tier of Saudi Arabia.[5]

Honours

Coaching staff

Position Name
Manager Portugal Paulo Sérgio
Assistant manager Portugal Hélder Carvalho
Tunisia Ridha Jeddi
Goalkeeper coach Serbia Vlada Avramov
Fitness coach Saudi Arabia Muntasser Al-Mehdinat
Performance analyst Saudi Arabia Yahya Al-Balushi
Doctor Saudi Arabia Saad Mubarak
Physiotherapist Saudi Arabia Salman Al-Kaabi
Director of football Saudi Arabia Salim Al-Jahbrani
Technical Director Bosnia and Herzegovina Kemal Alispahić

Current squad

As of July 2025[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Saudi Arabia KSA Rakan Al-Najjar
2 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Mohammed Al-Saeed
4 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Saeed Al-Rubaie
6 MF Brazil BRA Petros
8 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Hussain Al-Zabdani
12 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Abdulaziz Al-Hatila
13 FW Cameroon CMR Christian Bassogog
14 FW Saudi Arabia KSA Saleh Al Abbas
15 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Naif Asiri
17 DF Jamaica JAM Damion Lowe
18 MF Colombia COL Sebastián Pedroza
19 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Saud Salem
20 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Saleh Al-Harthi
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 FW Saudi Arabia KSA Mohammed Al-Jahif
22 GK Saudi Arabia KSA Mohammed Al-Qareh
27 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Awadh Khamis
29 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Ahmed Al Daghrir
64 FW Egypt EGY Karim Ashraf
77 MF Saudi Arabia KSA Saif Balhareth
87 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Ghassan Hawsawi
92 GK Saudi Arabia KSA Saad Al-Qarni
98 DF Saudi Arabia KSA Muhannad Al-Qaydhi
GK Brazil BRA Samuel Portugal (on loan from FC Porto B)
DF Germany GER Koray Günter
MF Germany GER Gökhan Gül
MF Saudi Arabia KSA Musleh Al-Shaikh

Managerial history

  • Saudi Arabia Humood Al-Saiari (2006 – 2011)
  • Egypt Shams Eldin Hamed (21 November 2012 – 1 April 2013)
  • Egypt Eid Farag (28 August 2013 – 25 November 2013)
  • Tunisia Selim Al Manga (25 November 2013 – 1 April 2014)
  • Tunisia Naoufel Srarfi (11 September 2014 – 13 February 2015)
  • Saudi Arabia Humood Al-Saiari (13 February 2015 – 1 April 2015)
  • Tunisia Naoufel Srarfi (1 September 2016 – 1 March 2017)
  • Egypt Bahaaeddine Qebisi (1 August 2017 – 1 May 2018)
  • Tunisia Khaled Msakni (1 August 2018 – 21 October 2018)
  • Egypt Osama Orabi (21 October 2018 – 1 June 2019)
  • Brazil Luiz Antônio Zaluar (23 July 2019 – 14 October 2021)
  • Tunisia Ridha Jeddi (15 October 2021 – 1 June 2022)
  • Portugal Jorge Mendonça (9 July 2022 – 10 November 2023)
  • Slovakia Martin Ševela (10 November 2023 – 17 April 2024)
  • Algeria Noureddine Zekri (17 April 2024 – 1 June 2024)
  • Croatia Stjepan Tomas (22 July 2024 – 19 February 2025)
  • Tunisia Ridha Jeddi (caretaker) (19 February 2025 – 1 March 2025)
  • Portugal Paulo Sérgio (1 March 2025 – )

See also

References

  1. ^ "الأخدود - Al-Akhdoud". Archived from the original on 2023-06-27. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  2. ^ "القاسم يتوج الأخدود ببطولة دوري الدرجة الثانية بعد انتصاره على العروبة". Archived from the original on 2023-06-27. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  3. ^ "نادي الأخدود". Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  4. ^ "People of the Ditch". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  5. ^ "نادي الأخدود يصعد لأول مرة في تاريخه لدوري روشن للمحترفين" (in Arabic). al-jazirah.com. 16 May 2023. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  6. ^ "تشكيلة الأخدود". Archived from the original on 2023-06-22. Retrieved 2021-07-25.